Rams Player Has Been Flying Under the Radar, But He Deserves More Attention

As June approaches, teams are starting to get back together and start to prep for their new season. It’s an exciting, but quiet, time on the NFL calendar, and it’s a good time to reflect on each team’s current lineup.

For the Los Angeles Rams, they came so close to the Super Bowl last season, and the goal will be to get there this upcoming season.

In a feature for NFL.com out on Tuesday, May 26, Tom Blair names the most underrated players in the NFC heading into the new season. “In a 32-team league with 53-man rosters, it’s impossible to properly praise all quality contributors,” he states. “But as we head into summer — the NFL’s slow season — it’s a perfect time to check some of those boxes.”

For the Rams, he names nose tackle Poona Ford one of their most underappreciated players.

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“Does a shoutout from Macaulay Culkin count as too much appreciation for Ford to qualify for this list?” he states in the piece. “Or does the fact that Macaulay Culkin feels the need to evangelize for Ford mean he definitely belongs on this list?”

He adds: “Ford signed with the Rams on the most lucrative deal of his career last offseason, but he’s still getting paid less per year ($9.2 million) than 36 other interior defensive linemen, per Over the Cap. That seems like a pretty good value, considering the massive difference he made for the Rams.”

My Take: What Poona Ford Brings to the Rams

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Honestly, it’s about time the nose tackle position gets some love. It’s an underrated position, and, yes, Ford is an underappreciated player. His numbers improved last season, so he’s trending in the right direction. All Culkin jokes aside, Ford brings a solid, stable presence to the Rams, and as the nose tackle, he’s excellent at controlling the trenches, which is exactly what the Rams need.

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This story was originally published May 30, 2026 at 9:00 AM.